There has never been one moment of your life that God wasn't relating to you by GRACE.
You were born into the great wide, eternally deep waters of divine love.
When you were formed in your mother's womb, he knit you together with mercy. Like Jeremiah who was known from the womb. Like John the Baptist who was filled with the Spirit in his mother's womb. Like Paul who was set apart in the womb and called by grace. God has always been intimately involved in your life.
As you cried out your first breath at your delivery, angels sang and the Father, Son and Spirit celebrated you with joy. You have always been wanted.
He was face to face with you as your eyes, like slow rising shades, awakened to the day... because he neither sleeps nor slumbers.
He did not flee when you wouldn't see him. He did not step away when you stepped into darkness and forgot him.
In your unbelief he still believed in your destiny, potential, and purpose. Like the father who sees his child's ability to walk before the child does, so your Father invites you to see what he sees about your potential.
No matter what behavior you stumbled into from darkness, he was not offended or angry with you, but waiting for you to look to him. God has never once been angry with you. He has never once taken you to the woodshed. We have simply wounded our own conscience and experienced the fruit of our own decisions.
When you yelled at him because you didn't think he was with you in that painful experience, he was actually there all along. He can't always bail you out, because he will not violate anyone's free will, but he was there to give you wisdom to walk through it or around it. Before, during and after.
See, you have never been alone!
He wants you to see that he has always known you through grace! Now HE wants you to know HIM though grace!
He received you into his life before you received him into your's. That is because the gospel is yes and amen in Christ Jesus. He said yes before you did. He is inviting you to believe who he has always been to you.
2 Timothy 1:9, "who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and GRACE WHICH WAS GIVEN TO US in Christ Jesus BEFORE TIME BEGAN..."
WHY? HOW?
There has never been a time in your life when the old covenant of Law existed. The comparison of Law and grace was for that first transitional generation as the death, burial, resurrection, ascension and glorification began the dawning of a new day. They had 40 years, a whole generation, to leave the system of Law and receive grace before it came crashing down. The Law played out, in its entirety. At the cross it became obsolete, but it faded away by AD 70 as the temple, the priesthood, the sacrifices, the national covenant, and feasts were fulfilled completely.
As 2 Cor. 5:19 says, "God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, NOT COUNTING MEN'S SINS AGAINST THEM."
Notice he is speaking of the WORLD and MANKIND, not believers. He has never counted our sins against us, because there are no loopholes in love! Love keeps no record of wrongs. God IS LOVE.
The gospel is the FINISHED work of Christ! You were included in Christ's work. You were crucified with Christ before you believed.
1 Timothy 4:10, "For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the SAVIOR of ALL men, especially of those who believe."
Love has always desired for you to see and believe what is already true.
Paul goes so far as to say,
Ephesians 4:6, one God and Father of ALL, who is above ALL, through all and IN ALL.
Or Colossians 3:11, Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and IN ALL.
Paul just said Christ was somehow IN the barbarian. There is contextual evidence to suggest that he is speaking not simply of ALL believers but of ALL humanity before they believe. That would be a whole "nother" post. Regardless, this truth can be found in the reality that the whole earth is full of his glory. When a person hears the gospel, it resonates with them because God himself is there to bear witness in their hearts.
Of course, Paul makes sure to say that we are even being "mothered" by the heavenly realm as well,
Galatians 4:26, "but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the MOTHER of us ALL."
In fact, there is no future wrath of God towards his creation at all.
We are all familiar with Isaiah 53 (the death and resurrection of Jesus, AD 30). But Isaiah 54 speaks next of AD 70. Notice the wrath is only for a brief period in history (the destruction of Jerusalem and removal of the Law) while the mercy in contrast is everlasting. Especially notice that it is based on a one sided oath. In other words God has SWORN an oath never to relate to you through wrath! To violate his promise is for him to cease to be God!!!!
8 With a LITTLE WRATH I hid My face from you for a moment;
But with EVERLASTING kindness I will have MERCY on you,”
Says the Lord, your Redeemer.
9 “For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; For as I have sworn
That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth,
So have I SWORN
That I would NOT BE ANGRY with you, NOR REBUKE YOU.
10 For the mountains shall depart And the hills be removed,
But My kindness shall not depart from you,
NOR SHALL MY COVENANT OF PEACE BE REMOVED,”
Says the Lord, who has mercy on you.
So there has never been a moment where God has been angry, offended, wrathful, or distant from you. You have lived immersed in holy love, which was purposed by grace since before the foundations of the world. That is why Jesus said, "Only believe."
At Christmas we sing, "He rules the world with truth and GRACE". Do you believe it? Deep within you know its true.
So smile... God loves you!!!
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